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OK, this title is a bit presumptuous, but I found the original article/page very interesting, and came upon it only by happenstance in the course of a tangentially related search.
Can most of us even remember eight things of any consequence or not at all from this year's CES? Yet, I've been to quite a few CES conventions, and generally find them quite interesting, though of late the RMAF (running this last weekend in Denver again) has replaced it for "hands on/ears on" experiences with new stuff.
Now, one of those eight things caught my eye particularly, and actually was the reason I came across this blog:
3. Ayre Acoustics’ VX-5 ($7950) could better the $20,000-$40,000 Burmesters and darTZeels. It kills me when I read the audio forums and see that a poster is shopping for an amp “in the $25,000 price range” -- the natural assumption being that if it costs that much, it must be better than anything costing less. This is the great lie of our industry, and consumers swallow it hook, line, and sinker. We need to challenge this conventional thinking. For example, Ayre Acoustics’ new VX-5 stereo amplifier (175Wpc into 8 ohms, 350Wpc into 4 ohms) costs “only” $7950. The darTZeel NHB-108 costs more than twice that (the most recent price reference I could find online was $18,200), and Burmester’s 911 Mk.3 is almost four times as much, at 30 grand. The interesting question is why. Are Hervé Delétraz (of darTZeel) and Dieter Burmester more talented circuit designers than Ayre’s Charles Hansen? Are the parts they use better than Ayre’s? OK, the darTZeel and Burmester do look a bit fancier on the outside. I’m sorry to pick on the fine-sounding darTZeel and Burmester -- there are others just as deserving -- but we know that the exchange rates for foreign currencies affect the prices of those brands (Burmester is in Germany, darTZeel in Switzerland), which must shoulder the additional costs of hiring a North American distributor or setting up their own office Stateside. These facts of business inflate the prices beyond the usual costs of manufacturing -- we all know this. What gets me, however, is that most audiophiles still assume that the more expensive product is automatically better. I do believe this is starting to change, partly because products like Ayre’s VX-5 are just too strong to ignore, even in the face of much more expensive challengers.
Do thoughts like these mark a swing over to a somewhat more rational viewpoint in high end? Hard to say, and certainly not an outlook that is universally shared. But it's good to see the situation called out for what it is...
Of course, they had something interesting to say about speakers, too....
(some of us think of Magico as the Tesla of commercial loudspeakers... or is it Tesla is the Magico of Electric Vehicles?)
6. Magico is the company to beat in the over-$10,000 loudspeaker market. When Magico announced the all-aluminum, high-tech-drivered, 120-pound S1 loudspeaker ($12,600/pair), available in several cool colors, you could almost hear a collective, “Ah, crap!” from Magico’s competitors. When the S1 was demonstrated at CES 2013, that concern was confirmed. It sounded great. In the past few years, Magico has introduced model after model, each with market-segment-leading performance, better build quality, and at ever-improving prices than any of the other five-figure loudspeaker makers. Like ’em or hate ’em, you can’t ignore ’em. Magico seems to pull manufacturing and finishing capability out of thin air, and their engineering is first rate. Even if you don’t want to own a pair, you can’t help but be impressed by what the company has accomplished. And now I hear they have a new factory opening in a couple of months . . .
Can we have a show of hands of all of you who have heard a Magico speaker system? C'mon now, don't be bashful.... Hmmm?
I see. well, maybe you guys need to get out a little more....
The last extract of note is number 8....
think about the NAD M51 or M50 when you read this...
8. Some of the best costs less. OK, show of hands: Who thinks that the latest-generation KEF Uni-Q driver contains more engineering and technology than the midrange and tweeter of your present speaker? One more question: Do you think there’s any possibility it might sound better than such-and-such boutique brand at ten times the price? If you answered no to these questions, then I recommend you get out more and really listen. Depending on your budget and what you currently own, you might be really excited or really heartbroken by what you hear. If you’re in the latter camp, that’s why we have Audiogon. Either way, see Blogs above.
Which should take you back to the notion that the thing to do is listen, compare, evaluate, and go for the value.... there's a lot out there these days, if you look in the right places.
And I have heard some of those KEF's, and recommended them to friends who can hardly DIY setting up their HT systems... much less build a speaker.
But you know, even though I hardly need to build a new speaker system these days, this new concentric driver set from Seas has really got my pulse pounding....
Can most of us even remember eight things of any consequence or not at all from this year's CES? Yet, I've been to quite a few CES conventions, and generally find them quite interesting, though of late the RMAF (running this last weekend in Denver again) has replaced it for "hands on/ears on" experiences with new stuff.
Now, one of those eight things caught my eye particularly, and actually was the reason I came across this blog:
3. Ayre Acoustics’ VX-5 ($7950) could better the $20,000-$40,000 Burmesters and darTZeels. It kills me when I read the audio forums and see that a poster is shopping for an amp “in the $25,000 price range” -- the natural assumption being that if it costs that much, it must be better than anything costing less. This is the great lie of our industry, and consumers swallow it hook, line, and sinker. We need to challenge this conventional thinking. For example, Ayre Acoustics’ new VX-5 stereo amplifier (175Wpc into 8 ohms, 350Wpc into 4 ohms) costs “only” $7950. The darTZeel NHB-108 costs more than twice that (the most recent price reference I could find online was $18,200), and Burmester’s 911 Mk.3 is almost four times as much, at 30 grand. The interesting question is why. Are Hervé Delétraz (of darTZeel) and Dieter Burmester more talented circuit designers than Ayre’s Charles Hansen? Are the parts they use better than Ayre’s? OK, the darTZeel and Burmester do look a bit fancier on the outside. I’m sorry to pick on the fine-sounding darTZeel and Burmester -- there are others just as deserving -- but we know that the exchange rates for foreign currencies affect the prices of those brands (Burmester is in Germany, darTZeel in Switzerland), which must shoulder the additional costs of hiring a North American distributor or setting up their own office Stateside. These facts of business inflate the prices beyond the usual costs of manufacturing -- we all know this. What gets me, however, is that most audiophiles still assume that the more expensive product is automatically better. I do believe this is starting to change, partly because products like Ayre’s VX-5 are just too strong to ignore, even in the face of much more expensive challengers.
Do thoughts like these mark a swing over to a somewhat more rational viewpoint in high end? Hard to say, and certainly not an outlook that is universally shared. But it's good to see the situation called out for what it is...
Of course, they had something interesting to say about speakers, too....
(some of us think of Magico as the Tesla of commercial loudspeakers... or is it Tesla is the Magico of Electric Vehicles?)
6. Magico is the company to beat in the over-$10,000 loudspeaker market. When Magico announced the all-aluminum, high-tech-drivered, 120-pound S1 loudspeaker ($12,600/pair), available in several cool colors, you could almost hear a collective, “Ah, crap!” from Magico’s competitors. When the S1 was demonstrated at CES 2013, that concern was confirmed. It sounded great. In the past few years, Magico has introduced model after model, each with market-segment-leading performance, better build quality, and at ever-improving prices than any of the other five-figure loudspeaker makers. Like ’em or hate ’em, you can’t ignore ’em. Magico seems to pull manufacturing and finishing capability out of thin air, and their engineering is first rate. Even if you don’t want to own a pair, you can’t help but be impressed by what the company has accomplished. And now I hear they have a new factory opening in a couple of months . . .
Can we have a show of hands of all of you who have heard a Magico speaker system? C'mon now, don't be bashful.... Hmmm?
I see. well, maybe you guys need to get out a little more....
The last extract of note is number 8....
think about the NAD M51 or M50 when you read this...
8. Some of the best costs less. OK, show of hands: Who thinks that the latest-generation KEF Uni-Q driver contains more engineering and technology than the midrange and tweeter of your present speaker? One more question: Do you think there’s any possibility it might sound better than such-and-such boutique brand at ten times the price? If you answered no to these questions, then I recommend you get out more and really listen. Depending on your budget and what you currently own, you might be really excited or really heartbroken by what you hear. If you’re in the latter camp, that’s why we have Audiogon. Either way, see Blogs above.
Which should take you back to the notion that the thing to do is listen, compare, evaluate, and go for the value.... there's a lot out there these days, if you look in the right places.
And I have heard some of those KEF's, and recommended them to friends who can hardly DIY setting up their HT systems... much less build a speaker.
But you know, even though I hardly need to build a new speaker system these days, this new concentric driver set from Seas has really got my pulse pounding....
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